Martyrdom of St Andrew

Carlo Dolci painted three versions of the martyrdom of St Andrew, who was crucified in Patras and, according to hagiography, was tied - and not nailed - to a cross, with his arms placed diagonally so as not to look like the sacrifice of Jesus in any way.

The scene, inspired by the Golden Legend by Jacopo da Varazze, illustrates the moment immediately before the crucifixion, when the saint is being stripped while his executioners set out the wooden poles to which he will be tied. Dolci translates the excited, crowded action into stories of emotional truth, which we can read in the expressions of the saint, of his executioners, and of the remaining bystanders, many of whom are genuine portraits. In the background, in the group bystanders watching the event, there are two outstanding figures, framed within the arc defined by the legs of the youth in a hat, shown in the foreground. One of these, wearing a red hat, faithfully copies the Portrait of a Man in a Red Cap by Titian, now in the Frick Collection, a painting evidently familiar to Dolci, although for reasons of which we are unaware.

There are several known versions and copies of the painting.